This a book I cannot reccomend enough. To give you the brief overview, I may have set this book down after finishing, but it lived in my head for days. Did I have to write a love letter to the forest after reading this book? Yes, yes I did. The world that Morgan has built in TLAW is one that is lush, grounded, magical, and so well put together. It was so easy to sink into the world and it made me want to go frolick in a forest myself. The imagery, depth, and metaphor in this book are written so beautifully that it really pulls you in. You forget you are sitting in a chair in your house, and instead feel like you too are running with the wolves.
When you read this book, you enter into this beautiful middle ground between what you know of the world and reality, and what magic layers can be hidden in the folds. Eden and Silas’s story sweeps you right up in my opinion. Legend becomes reality for Eden and I loved watching her both wrestle and delight in that. She a dreamer and a wanderer that speaks directly to my own dreaming and wandering heart. And I loved following along with all the conflicting emotions in Silas’s story. The heartbreak, the pressure, the responsibility, and the falling in deep with Eden. The complexity of all he holds is so real. I found myself unable to put this story down.
You get love, and siblings, and family in this book. You get heartache and deep emotion. You get a deep appreciation for nature and a connection to the natrual places of this world. You get themes of light and truth. You get characters getting free of burdens, of characters meeting each other where they are at. And I’ll say it again, the WORLDBUILDING.
I don’t know what words to use to describe this book really. But just know, it is well worth it. I felt my own heart set alight for the joy of nature and creating again after reading this. I wanted to find a Silas, and run with the wolves, and walk barefoot in the forest, and learn of all the ancient and hidden things. And I definitely cried at some points in this book, which is a high mark in my opinion.
So go read it. And I hope you get swept up as well.